A US property giant is planning a £1 billion post-Brexit spending spree in London

Dallas' J.R. Ewing doesn't actually work for Madison International — but you get the idea.REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
US property fund Madison International Realty is planning to spend as much as £1 billion buying bargain London buildings, as investors rush to pull their money out of UK property in the wake of the Brexit vote.

Madison, which already owns a stake in the Lloyds of London building, has raised a $1.39 billion (£1.07 billion) equity fund and founder Ronald Dickerman told the Financial Times: "We think the timing is perfect and we are looking to deploy a disproportionate amount of this fund into London."

He told the FT that Madison will spend £200-400 million of its fund in London and could leverage this amount up to £1 billion.

The investment plans are a silver lining on the cloud that has built up over the UK property sector in the wake of the surprise UK's surprise decision last month to leave the European Union.

Madison plans to play a role a little like Cash Converters but in the property market. Madison will offer a quick sale of a partial stake in the fund's buildings, hopefully giving Madison a bargain and giving the funds the cash they need.

Dickerman told the FT: "We can be a liquidity provider to open-ended funds with queues for the exit." Madison is reportedly already in touch with funds that have suspended redemptions.

Madison only buys stakes in properties rather than the whole thing and Dickerman says he hopes to get up to a 15% discount when shopping around in the UK.

Not only will prices likely be lower as funds look for a quick sale, the collapse in sterling since the Brexit vote means Madison's cash will also go much further. The pound has fallen around 10% against the dollar to a 31-year-low since the June 23 vote.

Madison has investments in buildings worth $23 billion worldwide, including a 51% stake in the Saks Fifth Avenue department store in New York and Statoil's Oslo headquarters in Norway.